Wednesday, May 11, 2011

7% seems about right to me. Does it seem too high to you?What about 6%? 5%? Is there a standard rate in Murphy or Richardson? What about 1%? What if the 1% is really 4% and *YOU* have to do 80%?Would you believe that the way discount realty is practiced by most licensees is illegal?!

Wow! I can find you a listing on the MLS any day with the opposite of that in the description. They often say, "contact the seller for more information" or, "send all offers to 972-555-5555" --which of course is the sellers fax line or an e-fax that the seller checks rather than the listing agent.

So what?

Fair question. Folks, you get what you pay for. It is conceivable that your transaction will never get off the ground with limited service. It is completely reasonable that a licensee fighting violation charges or trying to cover his ASSets might not get your home sold and closed. You get what you pay for.

JTOden Realty is an independent real estate brokerage so we set our fees ourselves. Each listing and each buyer is unique therefore, each fee we collect is reflective of that individual buying or selling situation.

What is consistent is our commitment to OUR minimum service standard: We represent our clients like they would work if they had the time, inclination, experience, and passion to be the very best Brokers they could be.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

In Dallas and its suburbs, you should buy. However, if you move to Fort Worth, maybe you should rent? New York City? Definitely rent. In fact, Inman News reports that It is cheaper to buy a home than to rent one in 39 of the nation’s 50 largest cities. Inman cites a a quarterly report released today by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.

The folks at Trulia have produced a rent vs. buy index that compares the median list price with the median rent on two-bedroom apartments, condominiums and town-homesin the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. listed on Trulia.com as of April 1, 2011.

Ken Shuman, Trulia’s spokesperson, stated, “With home prices nearing a double dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying. “As we head into the summer buying season, those looking to buy a home should be encouraged by improvements in the market and feel optimistic about their chances of finding an affordable home — much more so than in previous years.”

A price-to-rent ratio of 1 to 15 means that it’s much cheaper to buy than to rent in a particular city.

Top 10 cities to buy vs. rent:

Rank

City

State

Price-to-rent ratio

1

Las Vegas

Nev.

6

2

Phoenix

Ariz.

7

3

Arlington

Texas

7

4

Fresno

Calif.

8

5

Miami

Fla.

8

6

Mesa

Ariz.

8

7

Jacksonville

Fla.

9

8

Sacramento

Calif.

9

9

Detroit

Mich.

10

10

Omaha

Neb.

10

Source: Trulia.com

Inman reports that this index considers the total cost of homeownership compared to the total cost of renting. Calculations for total rental cost include rent and renters insurance.The total cost of homeownership was highest, compared to the cost to rent, in New York; Fort Worth, Texas; and Kansas City, Mo.

Dallas - Fort Worth Grows and Grows!

Bloggers I like & other Off Topic Links

Real Estate Agents that Don't Suck... (a rant)

REALTOR Ethics Codes prohibit me from posting who the terrible 80% are and why they are a scourge to our industry. But no one says I can't tell you who the good ones are!

J.T. Oden II, JTOden Realty

Jennifer Davis

Joe Boggs, Integrity First Mortgage

Jessica Bierstedt

Nancy Baldwin

Lori "CHICK" Miller

Angela Katai

Cori Sharp, KW

Donna McDonald, Ebby

Nancy White, Remax

Jason Pardue, KW

Linda Chady Chase, KW

There are some really lousy agents out there and lousy loan officers too. A client of mine once told me that he read an article that said 80% of licensees were awful. I agree with that, unfortunately. There are even whole brokerages devoted to sub-standard work. The REALTOR code of ethics prohibits me from giving you a list of all the lousy ones, much less telling you why they are so poor. Just because they are not listed doesn't mean they are lousy... but if they aren't on this list, assume the worst... just to be safe.